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This article tackles the question: has China become more proactive and willing to resolve regional problems unilaterally, bilaterally or multilaterally? It suggests that, while China has clearly become more proactive in facilitating regional stability and co-operation, it still has to overcome certain perceptual hurdles and constrain its impulse to be the ‘centre’ of the world. Consisting of three sections, this article first discusses the nexus between post-Mao China's ‘new’ diplomacy and Beijing's proactive posture towards Asia and notes the troublesome nature of the regional dynamics in Northeast Asia. It then explores three case studies in which China's activism has varied in resolving intricate regional and inter-state problems: namely, Sino–Japanese discord, the Koguryo controversy between South Korea and China and the North Korean nuclear conundrum. The final section offers some concluding observations regarding China's diplomacy towards Northeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This analysis observes that in 2020 China is a global power with global ambitions and a near-global presence. Terms such as "G2," "global stakeholder," "strategic competitor," and "hegemonic candidate" no longer ring hollow as they did ten years ago. However, it is unclear whether China's challenge to the United States will be sustainable in the medium to long run. The essay considers five hurdles in Beijing's path to a "responsible great power"—assuming that China does hope to be one. Certainly, the world does not wish to see the emergence of an irresponsible China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]